


The Sharpest Lives

by Doodlelupin



Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pain, Pining, Tending Wounds, implied trans character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27952595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doodlelupin/pseuds/Doodlelupin
Summary: An unexpected call from Duke, a morning full of bandages and a cup of coffee minus the burnt tongue
Relationships: Duke Crocker/Nathan Wuornos
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17
Collections: Haven 2020 Gift Exchange





	The Sharpest Lives

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PeterHaleforAlpha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeterHaleforAlpha/gifts).



> takes place before audrey shows up to haven...the title only vaguely applies im just obsessed with mcr and bad at picking names :)

Nathan was waiting in line for coffee when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket with a sigh, expecting to be called in to work on his day off. The name on his screen, however, was much more perplexing than he had thought. Duke? Why was Duke calling him?

“Uh, Duke?” Nathan answered the phone, confused.

"Nathan…" Duke's voice sounded weak.

"What's going on? Are you okay?" Nathan asked. He backed out of the line, heading out the door.

"I...uh-well, no." Duke chuckled. He coughed. It did not sound good.

"Where are you?"

"Boat."

"I'll be there in five." Nathan said, already climbing into his truck. He flicked on his siren, tearing out of the parking lot. He heard a beep as Duke hung up the phone. He dropped his cell onto the passenger seat and tried to focus on not hitting anything on the way there.

Nathan got to the pier far sooner than he should've. He jumped out of his truck and ran to where the Cape Rouge was docked, sprinting up the ramp onto the boat.

"Duke!" he called. No answer. "Duke!" he yelled again, moving towards the entrance. He heard a weak reply from inside. He ran towards the sound. “Duke? Where-” He stopped in the doorway. Duke was kneeling in the middle of the floor, one hand gripping his shoulder, the other bracing himself on the ground. He was covered in bruises and bleeding from...everywhere. 

“Oh my god…” Nathan muttered, dropping to Duke’s level to survey his wounds. Duke let out a humorless chuckle.

“That bad, huh?”

“Um-yeah? What the hell happened?” Nathan grabbed a towel off of the barstool next to him and gently dabbed at some of the blood, trying to figure out how many places he was bleeding from and how serious the wounds were. He had a mean slice across his forehead, a split lip, quite a few bruises and minor cuts on his arms, and something seriously wrong with his shoulder. It looked like it might be dislocated. Duke winced as he pressed the towel to his forehead.

“One of my...business associates. Wasn’t happy with the deal, apparently.” He spoke through gritted teeth. Nathan sighed.

“I don’t know what you were expecting. Surprised it hasn’t come to this sooner.” Nathan muttered.

“I usually don’t call you.” Duke said softly.  _ Ah. _ “I couldn’t-I thought I could just clean up myself but, uh-” He gestured to his position on the floor.

“Let’s just get you cleaned up.” Nathan said, shaking his head. They could discuss this later. “Anything worse than your forehead? What’s wrong with your shoulder?”

“Dislocated.” Duke said.

“Alright.” Nathan replied. He shifted, placing one hand on Duke's arm and the other on his good shoulder. “Ready?” Duke closed his eyes and nodded, taking a deep breath.

“One, two-” Nathan pushed it back into place on ‘two’. Duke gasped in pain before sighing in relief.

“Bastard…” he muttered under his breath. Nathan smiled despite himself.

“Alright, let’s get you to the bathroom.” Nathan handed him the towel and moved to his other side, pulling Duke’s good arm over his shoulder and sliding his arm around Duke’s back to support him. They carefully got to their feet. Duke gasped when he tried to put pressure on his left leg. He leaned heavily on Nathan as they made their way to the bathroom. Nathan considered just setting him on the floor of the shower and hosing him off, but he thought Duke had probably been through enough. He put down the lid of the toilet and helped him sit.

The bathroom was rather small, barely big enough for Nathan to stand between Duke and the sink. He turned his back to Duke and opened the medicine cabinet, glad to see plenty of gauze, bandages, and antiseptic. Also a gun. Why wasn’t he surprised? He grabbed what he needed and placed them on the floor, kneeling in front of Duke to have a better reach. The towel Duke had pressed to his forehead was quickly becoming saturated with blood. He pulled open the door to the cabinet beside the sink behind him and sure enough, there were a few washcloths. There was also a pack of hair ties. Nathan took a washcloth and handed Duke a hair tie.

“You should put your hair up.” Nathan said as he wet the washcloth. Duke nodded. He set the towel in his lap and reached up to pull his hair back. He hissed in pain. Nathan sighed.

“Give it here.” He held out his hand. Duke handed over the hair tie. He gently swept Duke’s hair up into a ponytail, securing it with the elastic. He was not thinking about how tender a moment this was. Not at all. From the look on Duke’s face, Nathan thought he might be not-thinking the same thing.

“Alright, your shirt should probably come off.” Nathan said, trying to change the tone that had settled in.

“Moving pretty quickly, aren’t you, Nate?” Duke teased. Nathan rolled his eyes.

“It’s covered in blood and I need to see if you’re bleeding under it.”

“Whatever you say…” Duke grinned, unbuttoning the three buttons holding it closed. He slid it off and tossed it into the hallway. “Tank too?” He asked. He pulled off his necklaces and set them down on the floor beside him. As he leaned down, Nathan could see the mild rope burn on the back of his neck. Someone had probably grabbed him by his necklaces. _ God _ .

“Up to you.” Nathan replied. Duke shrugged and pulled it off too. He had quite a few bruises across his torso, but no cuts. His scars stood out even more against the purple and blue of the bruises. He had two even lines under his chest and one on his hip. Nathan tried not to look too hard. He turned his attention back to the gash in Duke’s head.

He delicately held Duke’s head still with his left hand and wiped at the blood with the wet cloth. He cleaned around the edges of the wound first, getting the blood off his forehead. Duke watched him silently, wincing every so often when Nathan got a little too close to the edges of the cut. Nathan wished he could feel; it would make it much easier to tell if he was being gentle enough. It would also be nice to feel the warmth of Duke’s jaw beneath his palm, but that was something he did not need to think about at that moment. Nathan handed him the cloth when he had gotten most of the blood off. He reached down and got some gauze and poured some antiseptic into it.

“This is gonna hurt.” Nathan said softly. Duke nodded and braced himself. Nathan gently pressed the gauze to the wound. Duke hissed in pain, balling his fists. Nathan dabbed at the cut. The gauze was turning pink as the blood seeped into it. He set it down and folded some more gauze into a square, using medical tape to secure it over the cut. Duke let out a sigh.

“Worst one down, now what-fifteen to go?” He asked, looking over the various cuts on his arms.

“It’d probably be easiest to do this over the sink. Those ones aren't too bad, aside from that one.” Said cut went across his left forearm. It was deeper than the rest, but still not as severe as the one on his forehead. Duke nodded. “Think you can stand?”

“I have one good leg, I should be alright.” Duke shrugged. Nathan took his left hand and pulled him to his feet-well, to his foot. Duke gingerly rested his left foot on the ground, putting all his weight on his right leg. He turned on the tap and started to rinse off his wounds. Nathan couldn’t help much at this point. After making sure Duke wasn’t going to collapse again, he grabbed the towel he had set down and went out to the kitchen to rinse it. He grabbed Duke’s shirt off the floor and tossed it into his bedroom on the way. He rinsed out the towel in the sink, wringing it out when the water finally ran clear. He grabbed some ice from the freezer and placed it in a plastic bag, wrapping it up with the towel. He returned to the bathroom. 

Duke had finished rinsing off his arms and was patting them dry with a clean towel. He looked up when Nathan entered the room.

“Could you give me a hand?” He asked, holding out his left arm. The biggest cut looked better, definitely, but it was about to start trickling again. He was still bracing himself upright in the sink with his right hand.

“Why don't you sit?” Nathan put a hand on his shoulder, helping to ease him back down onto the lid of the toilet. He handed him the makeshift cold compress. “For your lip.” 

“Oh, thanks.” Duke pressed it to his lip, visibly relaxing from the relief. Duke handed him the dressing. Nathan put a bit of antibacterial cream on the cut first. 

“Kids brand?” He asked, looking at the brightly coloured packaging.

“They put numbing cream in it.” Duke said defensively. 

It clearly still stung, though. He winced. “Sorry.” Nathan muttered. He opened the dressing and pulled it out, careful not to touch the side that would go against his skin. He pressed it onto the wound, securing it with medical tape. He glanced at the rest of the cuts crossing his arms, deciding to put bandages on the worst ones and leave the rest. A few of the smaller cuts had already scabbed over. Duke put a few bandages on himself, though it was difficult to apply them with only one hand. He mainly watched Nathan work until they had covered all the cuts that needed it. He ended up with around 10 bandages overall.

“Alright, all that’s left is your leg then, right?” Nathan asked. He was half expecting Duke to reply with something to the effect of ‘oh actually I was stabbed in the back so I may be bleeding out’. Thankfully, that was not the case.

“Yep. My ankle, I think. Feels like a sprain.”

‘Let’s see.” Nathan helped him slip out of his boot without too much jostling. Duke slipped off his sock. They both stared at it.

“Doesn’t look broken.” Nathan shrugged.

“I’ve got some heavier gauze in the cabinet there, I might just wrap it.” Duke pointed at the medicine cabinet behind Nathan. He got out the gauze and knelt in front of Duke. “Oh, Nathan you don't have to-”

“I’ve bandaged all the rest of your wounds,” he teased.

“I mean if you insist.” Duke held up his hands in mock surrender. He smiled down at Nathan. “Ow!” He yelped when Nathan touched his foot.

“Sorry, sorry. This is going to hurt for a minute. It might be easier if you lie down, actually.” Nathan said pensively.

“Trying to get me in bed when I’m all injured and vulnerable, huh?” Duke grinned.

“Well you’re not bleeding anymore so I’m gonna head out-” Nathan started to get to his feet.

“No, no-I’ll behave!” Duke laughed, holding out a hand to stop him. Nathan tried to suppress a grin and failed. He stood, holding out a hand to Duke as he pocketed the gauze.

“You’d better. It  _ is _ gonna be hard to wrap your ankle while you’re sitting, though.” Duke took his hand, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. He wavered for a second, Nathan placing a hand on his waist to steady him. He pulled Duke’s arm across his shoulder, putting his sprained ankle between them and sliding his hand around his back to help hold him up. Nathan really,  _ really _ wished he could feel right now. He was very glad Duke couldn’t see his face from this angle. They made their way to Duke’s bedroom. It wasn’t much messier than usual; apart from the sheets in a relative state of disarray and a few stray shirts strewn about the room, it was pretty much clean.

Nathan helped Duke lower himself onto the bed, pulling over some pillows to help prop him up. Duke said nothing as he got comfortable. Nathan sat on the edge of the bed beside his feet. He pulled off Duke’s other boot. Duke laughed.

“Why?”

“Why would you wear boots on your bed, that’s gross.”

“Grosser things have happened on this bed-”

“-I don't want to know.” Nathan cut him off, holding up a hand to silence him. Duke chuckled, leaning back and resting an arm behind his head. Nathan pulled the gauze out of his pocket, turning to Duke’s foot.

“Ready?” He asked. Duke looked down at him. He nodded, gritting his teeth. Nathan tried to be gentle as he took the first few passes around. Duke let out a sharp breath, closing his eyes tight, the bag of ice in his hand audibly shifting as his fist clenched. Nathan tried to work as quickly as he could while remaining gentle. He wrapped the ankle tightly, but made sure it wasn’t cutting off circulation. He tucked in the end of the gauze and sat back. He looked up at Duke. He still looked rough, and he looked utterly exhausted, but he was at least tended to. Duke opened his eyes.

“Thank, Nate.” He said softly. Nathan nodded.

“I forgot to ask, you don't think you have a concussion, do you?”

“No, no. I’ve had a concussion before, I know what that’s like and I don’t feel it. They didn’t get too close to my head. With their fists anyway.” He laughed dryly, pointing at the bandage on his forehead. Nathan shook his head. He hated how casually Duke was talking about this.

“Alright. You might want to get some rest then. I’m going to get you some juice first though. I don’t know how much blood you lost but it couldn’t hurt.”

“You don't ha-”

“I didn’t say I _ had  _ to, I said I was  _ going to _ .” Nathan said softly but firmly. He got to his feet. “Do you want anything else?” Duke sighed. 

“No, juice is great. Top shelf in the fridge.” Nathan nodded and left the room. He poured Duke a glass of orange juice and brought it to him.

“Thanks.” He held out the bag of ice that had been pressed to his lip. “Could you put this-” Nathan took it and rested it under his ankle. Duke sighed in relief. “Wow. Thanks.” He sipped the juice. “And...thanks” He held up the glass, smiling. 

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome, and...you’re welcome.” Nathan replied, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards in a smug grin.

An awkward silence began to envelop the room, Nathan standing beside the bed with his hands in his pockets, Duke silently sipping the juice, resting the cool glass against his lip in between sips. Nathan and Duke both tried to break the silence at the same time.

“I should probably-”

“You don't have to-”

“You first.” Nathan said.

“Oh, well I was just going to say that you don’t have to stay if you have things to do.”

“It’s my day off, I was just milling about. Don’t know what to do when I’m not working.” Nathan shrugged. He didn’t want to make it seem like he was insisting on staying. “But if you want me to-”

“No, no, I wasn’t kicking you out I just thought if you wanted to go-”

“I don’t. Unless you want some coffee.”

“Coffee would be good.” Duke nodded. “If you go into The Gull they’ll give you some for free, just say one’s for Duke.”

“Ok, cool.”

“You can get food too, if you’re hungry.”

“I’m alright. Do you want me to bring you anything?”

“Coffee is good.”

“Alright.”

Nathan returned shortly with a black coffee and a fancy coffee he could not even begin to recite the name of. Apparently it was Duke’s usual.

“God bless you,” Duke grinned, pulling both cups out of Nathan’s hands. He took a tiny sip of Nathan’s. 

“Still too hot. I’ll give it back when it wont burn you.” He said before Nathan could protest. Nathan sighed but couldn’t hide his smile. “And uh, not to be more of a bother but could you pass me my cardigan? It’s a little chilly.” He pointed at a thick sweater draped over a chair behind Nathan. Nathan passed it to him. He pulled it on, letting Nathan hold the coffees for a minute. He left it unbuttoned, taking the coffees back. He took another sip.

“Close, but not quite.” He paused. “Nathan, would you sit down? You look so...forlorn.”

“Forlorn?” Nathan mocked, walking around the bed to sit beside him.

“Like a little lost puppy.”

Nathan scoffed. He sat on the edge of the bed. He didn’t want to jostle Duke’s ankle. Or sit too close to him. For...reasons.

“You can get comfortable Nathan. At ease, soldier, you’re off duty.” Duke laughed. Nathan grumbled as he settled back against the headboard, properly sitting on the bed. 

“There you go.” Duke said approvingly. He sipped Nathan’s coffee. “Perfect.” He handed it over. Nathan took it and took a sip, refusing to think about the fact that Duke’s lips had just been on his cup. If he were about six years old he would have called it ‘indirect kissing’. He was, however, a fully grown man and could handle another man sipping his coffee.

“So.” He said, trying desperately to think about  _ anything _ else.

“So.” Duke repeated, tapping the lid of his coffee cup pensively. They both sipped their coffees to avoid having to speak next.

"Never have I ever?" Duke suggested.

"Never have I ever?" Nathan repeated incredulously. "How old are we?"

"Oh come on, we haven't played it since high school. With Jon and Tim, remember?" Nathan made a pained expression.

"Unfortunately."

"I mean, what else are we gonna do?" Duke shrugged. "Here, I'll start." He put up both hands, his fingers outstretched. Nathan rolled his eyes but followed suit. "Never have I ever ...used a taser."

Nathan sighed and put a finger down.

"That's pointed. Fine. Never have I ever been beaten to a pulp by a...drug dealer?" Duke laughed and put a finger down.

"Not this time, though.  _ He _ dealt in more… delicate objects." Nathan had no idea what Duke meant by that, and honestly he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"Okay, never have I ever slept with a cop." Duke said, watching Nathan carefully. Nathan shook his head, not moving any fingers.

"Oh come on, not even once?" Duke asked.

"Nope."

"Boring. Your turn."

"Hm. Never have I ever...stuck tacks-"

"-Hey, come on-"

"-In someone's back so that-"

"-Nathan-"

"The girl he had a crush on would scream-"

"-not fair-"

"You're right it isn't fair."

"I was 8!"

"So was I."

Duke sighed and put down a finger.

"Nathan, you know I'm sorry."

"...I know."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Nathan hadn't meant to bring it up; he couldn't really think of anything else to ask. Well aside from...a question he did not want to ask out of nowhere.

"Your turn." He said softly.

"Never have I ever...hm,” he paused. “Having a hard time thinking of things I haven't done." Duke chuckled awkwardly. "Never have I ever had a good relationship with my father." He laughed, taking a sip of his orange juice.

"That depends on what you mean by 'good relationship'. Obviously the Chief isn't as...bad as your dad but we don't exactly-"

"Put your finger down, Nathan." Duke rolled his eyes. Nathan obliged. He thought for a minute, trying to think of something to lighten the mood a bit.

"Okay, never have I ever...had a threesome." Duke laughed, putting down a finger.

"Never have I ever played the clarinet." Nathan sighed and put down another finger. There was still a question he could not get out of his head. He blurted it out before he could stop himself.

"Never have I ever slept with a man."

"Do threesomes count?"

"No."

Duke put his finger down anyway, grinning.

"Seriously?"

"Are you surprised?"

"Well. No."

"Never have I ever kissed Jonathan from math class." Duke said, staring at Nathan. He could feel his face heating up as he put a finger down.

"I knew it!" Duke yelled.

"Listen, it was one time-"

"Oh, hey, I'm not judging you! He was hot. In a nerdy kind of way"

"Yeah…" Nathan laughed.

"Never have I ever… kissed a criminal."

"Oh my god, Nathan. 'Kissed a criminal'. Weren't you just saying we were too old to play Never Have I Ever? 'Kissed a criminal.'" Duke laughed at him, but put a finger down nonetheless.

"You remember Evi?"

"Ah. I do."

"We were...quite the 'partners in crime'..." Duke teased. "Never have I ever...kissed a cop." Duke said in a tone Nathan couldn't quite identify. Nathan shook his head.

"Hm." Duke hummed in thought. Nathan squinted at him, confused at where he was going with this.

"...What?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking." He said in a feigned casual voice. Nathan knew he was trying to sound suspicious on purpose.

"Seriously, what?"

"Well. Just thinking. I mean...you've never kissed a criminal...I've never kissed a cop...Just interesting, is all." He shrugged. Was...Was he suggesting…Nathan didn't let himself think about it. He pushed himself forward, turning Duke's face towards him with a hand on his jaw and pressed their lips together. A small noise escaped Duke's lips, somewhere between pleasure and pain. He kissed back for a moment before he put a hand against Nathan's chest, pushing him back and putting his other hand to his mouth.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry-"

"No, no it was good, I just forgot about my lip." Duke laughed. He pulled his hand back to check if it had started bleeding again. It hadn't.

"I would love to try that again sometime when my lip is better." Duke grinned. Nathan laughed, relief flooding through his body.

"I'm holding you to that." He couldn't actually feel the kiss of course, but he could imagine what it felt like. And he could see the look in Duke's eyes. That was enough.


End file.
